Rise Of The Cybermen
by ponylkb
Summary: On a parallel Earth, a deadly new version of the Doctor's old enemy is about to be reborn. Upon landing on an alternate version of the Earth, The Doctor, Rose, Peter and Mickey learn that Pete Tyler is apparently alive and well. Lurking in the shadows are creatures made to destroy - one of The Doctor's greatest fears have come true...It's the rise of the Cybermen
1. Chapter 1

The dimly lit laboratory was quiet and still. That was until the lab technician standing in it turned a large dial on the control panel he was stood at. A bright white light suddenly illuminated the room, silhouetting the figure stood in front of it.

"The prototype has passed every test sir! It's working!" The lab technician said excitedly as he looked as best he could towards the figure that was in the glare of the bright light.

"I would hardly think working is the correct word" Another man's voice replied. Its owner then appeared from out of the shadows caused by the bright light. He was an thin ageing grey haired man sat in a high tech electrical wheelchair who sounded slightly out of breath as he spoke. "That would apply only to machines" He added.

"I'm sorry, I should say it's alive" The lab technician corrected himself as he glanced back up at the figure in awe.

"Can it hear me?" The man in the wheelchair asked him as he too looked towards the figure.

"Might still be in shock? Bear in mind the brain has been welded to the exhale skeleton" The lab technician replied.

"Skin of metal and a body that will never age or die, I envy it" The man in the wheelchair said. "Do you know me?" He then asked the figure in the light which did not respond. "Answer! Do you know me?" He asked again.

"You are John Lumic" The robotic male voice of the figure replied after a moment. John Lumic chuckled a little.

"My child!" He greeted. "Mark this day Doctor Kendric! We are blessed!" He told the lab technician who turned to face him, standing with his back to the figure in the light.

"Well it's not quite over yet sir, we need Geneva's approval, technically this is a new form of life and that contravenes the bi-convention they need to ratify this" Doctor Kendric reminded him.

"And they will refuse me!" Lumic snapped back.

"Never the less we have to tell them" Doctor Kendric urged him.

"And if I don't?" Lumic challenged.

"Well then I'm sorry sir but it's my duty, I shall have to inform them" Doctor Kendric replied, sounding nervous but determined at the same time.  
"And how will you do that from beyond the grave?" Lumic asked with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"I don't quite understand?" Doctor Kendric replied with a nervous smile.

"Kill him" Lumic ordered as he saw the figure behind Doctor Kendric then move. Doctor Kendric's smile dropped as he wheeled around to face the figure. A steel arm grabbed hold of his shoulder as it sent a fatal bright blue electrical pulse into the man, made much more deadly by the two small

ear pods Doctor Kendric had been wearing. As the deceased doctor crumpled to the floor Lumic

turned his wheelchair around to a control panel and pressed a button on it.  
"Captain?" He asked over the intercom system he'd opened up.

"Yes sir?" The captain's voice replied.  
"Inform all staff we have a new destination, set sail for Great Britain" Lumic ordered.

Inside the Tardis's console room the Doctor was sat on one of the moth eaten seats near the control panel with Rose sat next to him "….and that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes! Do you remember the way she looked at you?" He asked Peter, who was on the above padded platform opposite them. "And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!" He added, half laughing. "Though you were going to get frazzled!" Rose told Peter as she laughed loudly too.  
"Yeah one minute she's just standing there in front of me and then whoosh!" Peter added as he laughed even more.

"Yeah? Where was that? What happened?" Mickey asked as he looked to each of them in turn, smiling too but not quite getting the story.

"It was on this er, this er, planet thing, asteroid it's a long story you had to be there" The Doctor replied with a casual wave of his hand. "Er what are you doing that for?" He then asked Mickey, who was stood by the console holding one of the buttons down.

"Cause you told me to" Mickey replied, sounding confused.  
"When was that?" The Doctor asked, looking if he couldn't remember asking him.

"About half an hour ago" Mickey replied.  
"Er, you can, let go now" The Doctor replied as he tried not to grin at Mickey as he took his finger off the button.

"How long's it been since I could have stopped?" He asked as Rose and Peter also fought to keep their grins down.  
"Ten minutes, twenty, twenty nine" The Doctor replied casually.

"You just forgot me!" Mickey snapped, sounding hurt.

"No no no I was just, I was, calibrating" The Doctor replied, trying to find an excuse. Mickey still looked hurt as he gave a sigh and walked around the console a little whilst Rose gave the Doctor and Peter, who was now laughing silently, a look that told them to leave the incident there.

"Don't worry about it Mickey you can give us a hand later with some repairs" Peter then said. He'd already completed a few basic jobs around the ship such as wiring and mechanical servicing under the Doctor's guidance. Jumping down from the platform he came over to Mickey and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder despite still having a slight grin on his face.

"What repairs?" Mickey asked, trying to sound a little lighter, though it was obvious he was still in a bit of a mood.

"Oh nothing much, basic stuff," Peter told him before he looked to the Doctor. "Though I'm surprised this ship hasn't fallen apart yet, do you even get repairs done?" Peter asked him sceptically. The Doctor shrugged a little.

"Oh she's all right for a bit don't worry I know what I'm doing" He reassured. No sooner had the words had come out of his mouth a massive explosion of sparks and smoke erupted from the console. They were all thrown back with force as the ship groaned and lurched in protest and distress as outside in the time vortex it had been flying in it was suddenly and violently spat out of a great smoky purple blast. The Doctor had managed to get to the control panel and was kneeling in front of it, trying to find out what was wrong and to bring the Tardis back under control.

"What's happened!?" Rose asked breathlessly as she knelt down beside him, desperately clinging onto the console for support.

"The time vortex has gone!? That's impossible! It's just gone!" He replied in a panic as the lights in the room flickered out. Outside it was getting worse as the ship raced through a burnt orange vortex and an impossible speed. "Brace yourselves! We're going to crash!" The Doctor the shouted he and Rose gripped their side of the console tightly whilst Mickey and Peter on the other side did the same. A second later there was a deafening bang and the sound of shattering glass as the Tardis came to a brutal halt, throwing them all to the floor. Oxygen masks bounced down from the ceiling on elasticated strings, much like on an aeroplane as smoke poured from the console and everything came to a stop.

"Everyone all right? Rose?" The Doctor asked as he sat up and spotted her lying near him.

"Yeah fine" She mumbled as she sat up.  
"Peter? Mickey?" The Doctor the called out as he looked to the other side of the room.

"Yeah I'm fine, landed on something soft..." Mickey began to say but a groaning cut him off.  
"Oh, that soft thing you landed on?" Peter's voice cut in, sounding winded and not happy.

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry!" Mickey blurted out as he realised what or rather whom he'd landed on as he got off Peter's back and stood up, allowing him to sit up.

"You all right?" The Doctor asked Peter as he came over and gave him a hand getting onto his feet.

"Yeah I'm fine" He replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What happened?" He then asked as they looked at the dark and smoking console room.

"She's dead, the Tardis is dead" The Doctor said in a shocked whisper as he looked around his ship.

"You can fix it?" Rose asked as she followed him as he started walking around the console.

"There's nothing left to fix, she's perished the last Tardis in the universe, extinct" The Doctor replied as he flicked a few switches in a vain attempt to get a response.

"We can get help?" Peter suggested.

"Where from?" The Doctor asked as he lent against the dead console.

"Well we've landed? We must be somewhere?" Peter replied.

"We fell out of the vortex through the void and into nothingness, we're in some sort of no-place, the silent realm, the lost detention" The Doctor replied solemnly.

"Otherwise known as London!" Mickey suddenly called out happily as the others looked up to see him stood at the Tardis's doors. Slightly held ajar a bright light, looking very much like sunlight, was creeping in. Stepping outside they found themselves on the banks of the River Thames right opposite the Houses of Parliament.

"London England Earth!" Mickey announced as they all looked around. "Hold on," He said as he took a newspaper out of a nearby dustbin. "First of February this year! Not exactly far flung is it?" He added.

"So this is London? Your city? Exactly as we left it?" The Doctor asked as he looked up at the sky whilst Mickey, Rose and Peter looked at the newspaper.

"Yeap! Bang on!" Mickey replied.

"And that includes the zeppelins?" The Doctor asked, causing them to look up at him before following his gaze until they turned around to see two huge grey zeppelins flying in the sky above them.

"What the hell?" Mickey asked in shock, though with a grin on his face.

"That's beautiful" Rose added as they saw that there were more Zeppelins elsewhere in the sky including over Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. "Ok? So it's London with a big international festival?" Mickey said with a shrug.

"I don't think this is a festival, I've got the feeling they shouldn't be here" Peter said, sounding a bit more serious.

"Not quite, I think it's us that shouldn't be here" The Doctor said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.  
"This isn't your world or universe" The Doctor replied.

"But if the dates the same…?" Mickey began to ask but then realised something. "It's parallel right? Am I right? Like a parallel Earth where they've got zeppelins? Am I right? I'm right aren't I?" He guessed.

"Must be" The Doctor agreed.

"So a parallel world where...?" Peter asked, sounding confused.

"Oh come on! You've see it in films like an alternative to our world where everything's the same but a little but different like, I don't know? Traffic lights are blue Tony Blair never got elected..." Mickey began to explain rapidly.

"And he's still alive" Rose cut in, sounding a little shocked as she at something a short distance away. Following her gaze the others saw a small advertisement stand that was promoting an energy drink. Rose's father, Pete Tyler, was the spokesperson for it. "Parallel world and my dad's still alive" She said.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose immediately started walking towards it.

"Don't even look at it Rose! Don't even think about it! This is not your world!" The Doctor told her sternly, knowing what the temptations of a parallel world would bring.

"But he's my dad and..." Rose began to say quietly as she reached the advertisement stand and held out a hand to touch it.

"Trust me on this" The Pete on the board suddenly said as he gave a wink and thumbs up.

"That's weird" Rose said, the advertisement stand being slightly holographic. "But he's real, he's a success! He was always planning these daft little schemes heath drinks and stuff everyone said they were useless but he did it!" She said with a broad smile.

"Rose if you've ever trusted me then listen to me now!" The Doctor said firmly as he stood in front of her and took hold of her shoulders. "Stop looking at him!" He warned her as he saw her eyes drifting back over to the advertisement. "Your fathers dead! He died when you were six months old! That is not your Pete that is a Pete, for all we know he's got his own Jackie his own Rose his own daughter who is someone else but not you! You can't see him not ever" He told her as she lost her smile as the reality of where she was dawned on her as Mickey rested a hand on her arm in sympathy.

Across London a sleek black car was driving up the gravel driveway of a very large house that was set among private lawns and gardens. As it came to a halt in front of the house and the engine cut off Pete Tyler, wearing an expensive suit and carrying flowers, stepped out and headed for the front doors, hiding the flowers behind his back as he went in.

"Hello? Sweetheart? Only me" He called as he walked through the entrance hall and to the large wooden staircase where his wife was stood.

"Oh the bad penny!" Jackie Tyler snapped as she walked down the stairs, wearing heels and a silk robe, as the staff prepared flower displays, decorations and dusted thoroughly. "Was this your idea? Don't deny it! It's got your fingerprints all over it! Trust me on this!" She continued, giving a mock impression of Pete's advert. "Oh I could trust you all right! Trust you to cock it up!" She added as she reached him.

"What have I done now?" Pete asked, use to being blamed when Jackie got upset.

"Have a look!" Jackie replied as she lead him into one of the rooms leading off the entrance hall. Entering the room Jackie stopped and stood with her hands on her hips looking at a banner which was in the process of being hung up and read 'Happy 40th Birthday'.

"What's wrong with that?" Pete asked.  
"Forty! It says forty!" Jackie whinnied.  
"You are forty" Pete replied.

"I don't want the whole world telling do I!?" Jackie told him as though it was obvious.

"Your having a party tonight!" Pete reminded her.  
"My thirty ninth! My official biography says I was born on the same date a Cooper Gooding Jr and that makes me thirty nine thank you very much!" Jackie told him before walking out of the room as Pete reluctantly followed her. "Rose? Come here Rose!" Jackie then began calling out as she reached the staircase in the entrance hall.

"These are from the girls in the office for your birthday" Pete then said, offering her the flowers he'd been hiding behind his back. Jackie didn't look impressed.

"I've got hand made sculpture arrangements from Veronica Reykjavik and your secretary stopped off at a garage? I don't think so!" She rejected. "And if your giving out presents where's my zeppelin? everyone else has got one!" She complained as Pete placed the flower's in a gap on the stairs banister. "Rose? Come on Rose!" Jackie called up the stairs again before turning back to Pete. "Bet you didn't even notice did you?" She told him, indicating her ear pods "Special delivery, got sent round today, present from Mr Lumic latest model diamond studded pick up signals from Venezuela" She boasted.

"Why would you want to pick up signals from Venezuela?" Pete asked.

"Well I don't know but now I can find out!" Jackie snapped again before turning back to the stairs. "God sake where is she? Rose!" She called out loudly enough to cause Pete to turn his ear away. "She needs a good bath tonight she's going to be honking" Jackie said to him. "Rose!" She called again. "Rose? Come to mummy! There's a good girl!" She then said as a small brown Yorkshire Terrier appeared at the top of the stairs. As Jackie was fusing over Rose Pete heard his ear pods bleep, indicating a call.

"Mr Lumic Jackie was just saying thank you for the lovely gift it was very kind of you" He answered cheerfully. His voice was coming through on speaker within Lumic's zeppelin which was now hovering above central London.  
"Those ear pods are hand made tell her to take care" Lumic replied.  
"Course I will, I don't suppose you'll be joining us tonight for the party? We'd be very honoured?" Pete enquired.

"The world below can party some of us have work to do, my plans have advanced Mr Tyler the president has promised me a decision, I'm flying in now be at the airstrip be five o'clock" Lumic ordered.

"Right, it's just that I promised I'd help the wife out tonight..." Pete began to reply.  
"If the president of Great Britain can make this meeting then so can you" Lumic told him.

"I don't know? He's not married to Jackie is he" Pete joked.

"Five o'clock Mr Tyler, famous day!" Lupin told him before ending the connection. After taking a few breaths of oxygen from the mask attached to his wheelchair Lumic turned to face a screen.

"Voice print access John Lumic, initiate ear pod override, subject Jacqueline Tyler" He said as the screen flicked through hundreds of people's profiles as it searched for the right one. "Activate!" Lumic said as it found Jackie's.

Jackie was sitting at her bedroom vanity powdering her face for the party when her ear pods suddenly produced two metal prongs that the snaked up so that they met on top of her head in a square shape as blue spark appeared all around it. But Jackie hadn't seen this because she had just frozen, staring as if hypnotized, even dropping the make up brush she'd been using. "Download Tyler residence February the first, give me security arrangements for tonight" Lumic ordered as a blueprint of the Tyler's home appeared on screen. "And restore" Lumic said as the download completed, causing the two prongs to slide back into the ear pods Jackie was wearing before she seemed to come around and picked up her brush again as of nothing had happened. Thank you very much Mrs Tyler" Lumic said as the screen went blank for a moment. "Activate picture link" He the ordered the screen again which brought up a link showing a middle aged man wearing glasses who was sitting in a chair. "Mr Crane," Lumic greeted.

"Mr Lumic" Mr Crane greeted.

"Events are moving faster than anticipated I need extra staff" Lumic informed him.

"Very good sir I shall go on a recruitment drive" Mr Crane replied before Lumic ended the call. "Back her up" Mr Crane ordered the driver of the lorry they were sitting in the cabin of. The driver nodded and started up the engine.

Peter and Mickey entered the dark and dead Tardis where the Doctor was stood looking at it.  
"I told you two to keep an eye on her!" He told them sternly.

"She's all right.." Peter began to reassure.  
"She goes wandering off! Parallel world it's like a gingerbread house! All those temptations calling her!" The Doctor snapped in worry.

"Oh it's just Rose then? Nothing here to tempt us?" Mickey retaliated a little.  
"Well I don't know! I can't worry about everything!" The Doctor replied, not realising that his words hurt Mickey a little. "Just get this thing to...!" The Doctor began to mutter as he give the console a good kick in his frustration.

"Did that help?" Mickey asked as the Doctor then walked over to the padded chairs.  
"Yes" He replied.  
"Did that hurt?" Peter asked as the Doctor sat down.

"Yes, ow!" He winced as he clutched his foot.

Rose had walked down the riverside a little before sitting on a bench and began watching the zeppelins overhead. Her phone suddenly distracted her as it began bleeping. Pulling it out of her pocket she saw that the screen read 'Welcome! Free Trial Period' against a blue background. Pressing the enter button on her phone Rose saw the screen change to show a live news broadcast.  
"And it's good news today for Great Britain as John Lumic returns to the country of his birth, Mr Lumic, the inventor of high content metal, has denied allegations of ill heath" The newsreader said as the screen changed to show a thin ageing grey haired man man that had to be John Lumic.

"We're all flesh and blood but the brain is what makes us human, and my mind is more creative than ever" Lumic addressed the camera before the screen changed back to the news reader, who began announcing the other news.

The Doctor, Peter and Mickey were all stood around the Tardis's console.

"We're not meant to be here" The Doctor said quietly. "The Tardis draws it's power from the universe but it's the wrong universe, like diesel in a petrol engine" He explained.

"But I've seen it in comics? People hopping from one alternative world to another? It's easy" Mickey said, sounding confused.

"Not in the real world" The Doctor replied. "Use to be easy when the Timelords kept an eye on everything you could pop between realities and be back home for tea, then they died and took it all with them, the walls of reality closed and the doors were sealed, everything became that bit less kind" He added.

"Then how did we get here?" Peter asked.

"I don't know accident? Should have been impossible now were trapped" The Doctor replied. That was when he seemed to notice something. "What's that?" He asked, indicating a small green light visible under the metal floor panels.

"What?" Mickey asked, not seeing it.  
"I see it too is that a reflection?" Peter asked as he drew closer as Mickey saw it too.

"It's a light! Is it? Is that a light?" The Doctor asked, becoming excited as he ran over and pulled the panel up as Peter and Mickey came over and stood either side of him. "That's a light! It's all we need!" The Doctor said joyfully as he held the panel up and saw the small green light. "We've got power! Boys we've got power! Ha!" He cried out ecstatically as they realised the Tardis wasn't dead yet.

The Cyber Industries lorry ordered by John Lumic had pulled into a large landfill sight near the River Thames. Mr Crane then got out of the cabin and walked around to the back, giving the back door a thump as he came around.  
"Gentlemen!" He called to the group of homeless men who had all started gathering around the lorry with curiosity. "I bid your attention! Christmas has come early so come and get it!" He encouraged as other Cyber Industries staff appeared to open the lorry's back door and lower the loading ramp, revealing a row of plastic sheets which dropped down to form a passable doorway into the lorry. "Smell those hot plates! Burgers and chips! Sausage and chips! And all free!" Mr Crane promoted as the homeless men began to get excited as they smelt the attractive and warm smell that was wafting from the lorry. As they began walking towards it, however, a young man, who didn't look homeless, grabbed one of the homeless men's arm, stopping him from going to the lorry.

"Don't go!" He warned him.

"But they've got food!" The homeless man replied desperately, not taking his eyes off the lorry where some of the other men were now climbing into.

"They're lying" The man warned him.

"It's easy for you to say when did you last starve?" The homeless man asked, noticing his well kept appearance.

"All those people disappearing off the streets it's been going on for months! It's them! They're taking you away!" The man told him.

"What for?" The homeless man asked, sounding more suspicious now.

"Experiments" The man replied. The homeless man then seemed to become torn about whether to believe him or go to the lorry.  
"I'm so hungry" He said, making his choice and heading for the lorry. As he climbed in the man who had warned him not to go hung back and hid behind a oil drum and began to film what was going on with a video camera. He watched as the homeless man stepped into the lorry and go past the plastic doorway. A second later he heard screams coming from the vehicle and saw the man he'd tried to warn attempt to run back out, only to be forced back in by the Cyber Industries staff as the lorry doors and loading ramp were shut and packed away.

"Take them away" Mr Crane ordered coldly.


	3. Chapter 3

In the Tardis the Doctor was standing in the area below the metal floor digging his way through the wires and bits of metal in order to get to the light as Peter and Mickey crouched on the floor either side of him.

"It's alive!" The Doctor called out joyfully.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"Nothing! It's tiny! One of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about and It's clinging onto life! One little ounce of reality tucked inside!" The Doctor replied as carried on clearing the junk away.

"Enough to get us home?" Mickey asked.

"Not yet, I need to charge it up" The Doctor said as he pulled the tiny light out and held it carefully in his hand.

"We could take it outside and hook it up to the national grid?" Mickey suggested.

"Wrong sort of energy it's got to come from my universe" The Doctor replied.

"We don't have anything" Peter reminded him.

"There's me?" The Doctor said. He then blew on the small light which seemed to respond as it glowed even brighter.  
"What did you do?" Mickey asked as he and Peter watched in awe.

"I just gave it ten years of my life, worth every second!" The Doctor replied with a grin.

Rose was still exploring the Cyber Industries software on her mobile. She had brought up the search option and began typing up 'Pete Tyler'.

Back in the Tardis the Doctor, Peter and Mickey were all knelt on the metal floor staring at the tiny green light in wonder knowing that, to them, it was the most important thing in the universe right now.

"It's going out? Is that ok?" Mickey asked after noticing the light had begun to dim slight.

"It's on a recharging cycle it'll loop round and power back up and be ready to take us home in oh? Twenty four hours?" The Doctor reassured as the light grew stronger for a moment before fading again.

"So that gives us twenty four hours on a parallel world?" Peter said.

"Short leave, so long as we keep our heads down easy no problem, lets go and tell her" The Doctor replied before standing up and heading for the Tardis's doors.

They found Rose sitting on a bench by the riverside. "There you are! No applause fixed it!" The Doctor greeted as he showed her the small light. "Twenty four hours and we'll be back to reality" He added as he sat down next to her whilst Mickey took the other side of the bench and Peter stood just in front of them. But Rose didn't smile at the news, in fact she looked upset.

"What is it?" The Doctor asked her sternly, knowing he wouldn't like the answer.

"My phone connected, there's this Cyber network it finds your phone it gave me internet access," She began to explain, sounding tearful.

"Rose whatever it says this is the wrong world" The Doctor told her firmly.

"I don't exist, there's no Rose Tyler I was never born, there's Pete, my dad and Jackie he still married mum but they never had kids" She told him.

"Give me that phone!" The Doctor said, finally having enough as he tried to take it from her, though missed as Rose moved it away in time.

"They're rich! They've got a house and cars, everything they could want but they haven't got me" She said, standing up and walking a short distance away so that she could look at all three of them. "I've gotta see him" She said.

"You can't...!" The Doctor began to say.

"I just wanna see him!" She said again.  
"I can't let you!"The Doctor said more firmly.

"You just said twenty four hours!" Rose argued.  
"You can't become their daughter! That's not how it works! Peter tell her!" The Doctor asked, turning to Peter, who failed to answer as his loyalties were torn. "Mickey?" The Doctor then asked, desperate for back up. But Mickey didn't seem interested in stopping Rose, instead he stood up.

"Twenty four hours yeah?" He enquired.

"Where are you going!?" The Doctor asked in surprise as Mickey started walking away.

"Well I can do what I want" He replied.

"I've got the address and everything" Rose said at the same time, holding up her phone as she turned and began walking in the opposite direction. Only Peter had stayed, but not for long as he began walking in the same direction as Mickey.  
"Look I'll look after Mickey stay with Rose ok?" He said to The Doctor, trying to reassure him.

"No! Just stay where you are! All three of you!" The Doctor ordered, sounding angry. "Rose come back now! Mickey come back here right now! Peter stay where you are!" He ordered as they carried on walking away.  
"I just wanna see him!" Rose told him again.

"Yeah I got things to see as well" Mickey added.

"Like what!?" The Doctor asked him.  
"Well you don't know anything about me do you? It's always about Rose I'm just a spare part" He replied.

"I'm sorry I've gotta go" Rose said as she and Mickey both turned their backs on him and started walked away properly, rather than hesitantly drifting away. The Doctor, at a loss, turned to Peter, who had lingered slightly.  
"Go with her she needs you more I've got Mickey" He reassured. The Doctor looked from him to Mickey and then to Rose, both of whom had already a good distance away.  
"Back here! Twenty four hours!" He shouted at him as he gave chase of Rose whilst Peter turned and ran after Mickey.

John Lumic's zeppelin was in the process of landing on a private airship. As it touched down next to the helicopter Pete Tyler was arriving in a Range Rover also pulled up which three security men got out of before one of them opened the back door, allowing a serious faced and grey haired black man to step out.

"Mr Tyler" He greeted as Pete came over. "What's the matter that couldn't wait until tonight?" He asked as they shook hands.

"Mr president honoured, I'm on the fast track program Cyber Industries have bought up my company so I'm part of the firm now" Pete replied.

"Some people say he's bought my government" The President added as they walked towards the zeppelin a little.

"I've never hear anyone say that? Never, you can trust me on this" Pete chuckled a little as he recreated his advert.

"I tried your drink that vitex stuff, it tastes like pop" The president said, keeping his expression serious.

"Well it is pop" Pete replied, his grin fading a little.

"You made money by selling a health food drink to a sick world? Not quite the ordinary Joe you appear to be are you?" The president enquired before turning to face the zeppelin. "He does like to keep us waiting" He added with a sigh as they started walking towards the set of stairs which had been placed besides the main door of the zeppelin. "But tell me? You've had a chance to observe John Lumic more than most? What's your opinion?" The president asked Pete as they paused at the foot of the stairs.

"He's very sharp I'd say sharp as ever, a very clever man brilliant in fact" Pete answered.

"Then you don't think he's insane?" The president asked.

"It's not the word I would have used no" Pete replied. The president nodded as he began climbing the stairs.

Mickey seemed to know where he wanted to go as he led Peter to a very run down and industrial part of the city with streets that had smashed and burnt out cars in them. Soon they came across a checkpoint which was manned by armed soldiers.

"Are we all right to get past?" Mickey asked one of them.

"Yeah no bother curfew doesn't start till ten" The soldier replied.

"There's a curfew?" Peter asked in surprise.

"Course there is! Where you been living mate? Up there with the toffs?" The soldier asked, making it sound obvious, as he indicated the zeppelins flying overhead.

"Not quite" Peter replied as the soldier nodded them both through as another soldier lifted the barrier for them. After the barrier they found themselves on a streets filled with old and very small terraced houses."So where are we going?" Peter asked, unsure what Mickey was looking for.  
"Waterton Street there's someone I wanna see, I mean if they exist here or..." Mickey trailed off and seemed to hesitate on carrying on any further.

"I'm sure it'll be fine" Peter reassured as Mickey nodded, looking grateful for the support as they started walking again.

"What about you? Anything you wanna see?" Mickey asked him.

"No I severed all ties when I left with the Doctor, it's not my world in either universe" Peter replied with a shrug.

The Doctor and Rose were also walking through the parallel London streets.

"Mickey's mum just couldn't cope, his dad hung around for a while but he just sort of wandered off, he was brought up by his Gran, she was such a great woman! God she used to slap him! And then, she died, she tripped and fell down the stairs, it's about five years ago now I was still in school" Rose explained as they walked.

"I never knew" The Doctor admitted.

"You never asked" Rose replied.  
"You never said" The Doctor reminded her.

"That's Mickey, I suppose I, we just sort of take him for granted, do you think she's still alive? His Gran?" Rose asked.

"Could be? Like I said parallel world, gingerbread house we need to get out of here as fast as we can" The Doctor replied. A beeping sound suddenly rang out. But the more curious thing was that all the people in the street suddenly stopped what they were doing and stood completely still.

"What they all doing?" Rose asked as they looked at everyone.

"They've stopped?" The Doctor replied, sounding just as surprised. He then walked over to a man that had stopped. "It's the earpieces? like Bluetooth attachments but everyone's connected together?" He added as he looked closely at them. Rose's phone was also beeping.

"It's on my phone it's automatic look, it's downloading, is this what they're all getting?" She asked as she took it out of her pocket and showed the Doctor who'd put on his glasses. The phone's screen was scrolling through different topics such as news, sport and weather.

"They get it direct downloaded right into their heads" The Doctor said as he saw the screen show further things like TV schedule and lottery numbers. "Everyone shares that same information daily download published by Cyber Industries" The Doctor added as he looked at the screen a little more carefully. Then the screen changed again to show the word 'Joke' at which point everyone in the street laughed at the same time. Then they all carried on with their daily business. "You lot your obsessed! You do anything for the latest upgrade" The Doctor said as he began looking through Rose's phone.

"Oi! Not my lot! Different world remember?" Rose protested.

"Not so far off your world this place is only parallel, oh look at that! Cyber Industries own just about every company in Britain including vitex, Mr Pete Tyler's very well connected" The Doctor replied as he noticed Rose was looking at him in a pleading way. "Oh! Ok I give up! lets go and see him" He said with a sigh as he tossed her phone back to her before they started walking off again.


	4. Chapter 4

Mickey and Peter had reached Waterton Street where Mickey suddenly paused again at the corner of.

"Mickey?" Peter asked. Following his gaze Peter saw that Mickey was looking at a particular house.  
"You all right to? Wait here I mean? I just...?" Mickey tried to say.

"Sure no problem, go on" Peter encouraged with a smile and a pat on the shoulder, which seemed to help Mickey start walking again as he crossed the street and up to the house. Knocking on the door there was a brief pause before a voice sounded.  
"Who's that there!?" An elderly Jamaican woman's voice called as the front door opened. Standing in front of Mickey was an elderly woman carrying a walking stick and was wearing shades. "Who is it!? I know your there! Shame on you tricking an old lady! I've got nothing worth stealing! And don't think I won't disappear! Your not going to take me!" She said fiercely.

"Hi" Mickey said very quietly as he stood in front of his Gran who was just as he remembered her. At once the woman's face softened.

"Is that you?" She asked softly, not being able to see him from being blind.

"It's me, I came home" Mickey replied chokingly.  
"Rickey?" His gran asked as she found his face and felt it.  
"It's Mickey" He reminded her.

"I know my own grandson's name it's Rickey now come here" She told him as she gave him a warm hug.

"Ok I'm Rickey, course I am Rickey" Mickey said, too happy to not really care. Then all of a sudden his Gran started hitting him. "You stupid boy! Where have you been!" She scalded him.

"Ow stop hitting me!" Mickey protested.

"It's been days and days! I keep hearing all these stories people disappearing off the streets! There's nothing official on the download but there are all these rumours and whispers! I'd thought they'd disappeared you!" His Gran started ranting, indicating her ear pods. But Mickey was only half listening as he looked over her shoulder at the the carpet on one of the stairs inside the hallway which had a large rip in it.

"That carpet on the stairs, I told you to get it fixed your going to, fall and break your neck" He told her, sounding upset.  
"Well you get it fixed for me" His Gran insisted.

"I should have done way back, I guess I'm just kinda useless" He told her.

"Now I never said that" She replied.

"I am though and I'm sorry Gran I'm so sorry" He started apologising.

"Don't talk like that, what you need is a sit down and a cup of tea? Got time?" She asked him.  
"For you? All the time in the world" He said with a grin. Across the street Peter was stood lent up against a house's wall. Although he would never admit it, once he saw who Mickey had visited he'd found himself finding a bit more respect for him, also a little sympathy as, thanks to his wolf hearing, he'd heard every word. The sound of screeching tires in the distance took his attention for a moment but he quickly ignored it as he remembered that he was in a rough neighbourhood as he carried on watching Mickey.

"You never seem to have time any more it's those new friends of yours I don't trust them" Mickey's Gran said.

"What friends are they?" Mickey asked, sounding confused.

"Don't pretend you don't know! Mrs Chang told me, driving about all helter-skelter in that van" His Gran scalded.

"What van's that then?" Mickey asked.  
"Mickey!" Peter suddenly shouted as he saw the danger. As Mickey turned to see what the problem was he saw a blur of blue cut in front of his view and only had a second to register that it was a van before the door slid open and the man who'd spied on the homeless people jumped out.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" He shouted at Mickey as he pulled him into the van before it sped off again, leaving Mickey's Gran standing at the door, confused at where he'd gone.

"Rickey? Rickey?" She called but got no response. Peter had watched too as the van had sped off and realised what had happened as he started giving chase. The driver of the van, a woman with short white hair had noticed this.  
"We've got a chaser on foot this time" She said as she spotted Peter running after them in the wing mirror.  
"Smoke them" The man replied causally. The woman nodded and pressed a button on the dashboard. Outside thick white smoke suddenly billowed out of the exhaust pipe, shrouding Peter and half the street. Forced to stop as he choked on it Peter knew he'd lost them even before the smoke had cleared. When it did he saw an empty road and cursed under his breath before making a decision and started running again.

In the van Mickey, confused worried and if not scared sat on a side on seat as the man sat opposite him and talked.  
"Rickey you were the one who told us you don't contact your family cause it puts them in danger!" He told him.

"Yeah Rickey said that course I did just testing" Mickey said, deciding to play along.

"It was a close call with that chaser, did you know he was following you? Who he was?" The woman driving the van the asked him over her shoulder.

"Er..." Mickey began to say, trying to come up with a credible lie.  
"Never mind that I've got something much more interesting!" The man cut in excitedly. "I saw them! I taped them! They went round Blackfriars and took the homeless like the child catcher they must have taken four dozen" He told Mickey.  
"The vans were hired out to a company called international electromechanics but I did a protocol search turns out its a dummy company established by guess who?" The woman asked.

"I don't know? Who?" Mickey asked.

"Cyber Industries!" The woman and man both said at the same time, making it sound obvious.

"Now we've got evidence but bad news is they've arrested Finn Jimmy" The man added.  
"So that just leaves you" The woman told Mickey.

"Leaves me what?" Mickey asked, sounding confused.

"The number one top of the list, London's most wanted" The man told him with a grin.

"Ok cool," Mickey said just as the realisation of it dawned on him. "Say that again?" He asked.

On board John Lumic's zeppelin a projected presentation was running with a recorded commentary

from Lumic. The man himself was sat a table watching it with Pete Tyler and the president as he took time to breath through his oxygen mask.

"The most precious thing on this Earth is the human brain and yet we allow it to die but now Cyber Industries has perfected a way to preserve it indefinitely within a cradle of copyrighted chemicals and the latest sciences in synapses research which allows cybernetic impulses to be bonded to a exhometal skeleton, this is the ultimate upgrade our greatest step into cyberspace" Mr Lumic's voice said.

"I'm sorry can we stop it there?" The president suddenly asked. Lumic took of his oxygen mask, and looked at the president with slight annoyance as the presentation was halted. "I don't think we need the pitch we all know what this ultimate upgrade entails and I'm here to tell you John the answer is no my government does not give you permission and I think no government ever will" The president told him firmly as he stood up and made for the exit.

"I've prepared a paper for the ethical committee," Lumic tried to persuade.  
"Oh come on! It's not just unethical it's obscene!" The president told him as he turned back to face him.  
"Mr president if I might make a personal plea, I am dying sir" Lumic begged.

"I'm aware of that and I'm very sorry..." The president began to say.  
"Without this project you have condemned me! My inventions have advanced this whole planet would you have all that perish?" Lumic asked him.  
"Your a fine businessman John but your not god, I'm really very sorry but I think we should leave it there" The president told him before turning to Pete. "Mr Tyler I'll see you tonight I think we could all do with a good drink" He said with a final glance at Lumic before he left the room. Pete then turned to Lumic.  
"Still it's not the only country in the world, there's always New Germany?" He tried to suggest positively.

"This is the homeland! My birthplace! You may leave" Mr Lumic said, sounding bitter.  
"Thank you sir" Pete replied with a positive smile as he was now free to return to his wife's party. Once he'd left Lumic turned his wheelchair around so that he could face a screen.

"Mr Crane" He ordered as the screen turned on and showed the man who'd taken the homeless men.

"Ready and waiting sir" He replied.  
"Did the override work?" Lumic asked.

"Well needs a bit of fine tuning we weren't exactly delicate given the rush but yeah it's all working" Mr Crane confirmed as he stood up from the control panel he was sat at so that Lumic could see a few of the homeless men who were stood in a line on a platform with flashing ear pods now in place. "I've been testing the system sir they've grafted on a treat these have, given a little persuasion, if you care to observe sir?" He asked Lumic, who nodded. Mr Crane then went over and stood in front of the men. "Turn to the right and back to the left" He said as the men did exactly as he told them too.

"Are you having fun Mr Crane?" Lumic asked, sounding irritated.

"Oh, not at all sir it's just irresistible" Mr Crane replied sheepishly as he hid his grin.

"Then resist sir and start the upgrade" Lumic ordered.  
"Did we get permission?" Mr Crane asked.  
"I am governed by greater laws old friend, the right of man's survival, now begin!" Lumic ordered before cutting off the call.

"And turn to the left, forward march" Mr Crane ordered the men, who did so and one by one walked through a open doorway which had the sound as grinding metal coming out of it. Soon the sound of metal was joined by the men's screams. Mr Crane looked a little annoyed by this and pressed one of the buttons on the control panel so that loud music started playing over the noise that echoed all over Battersea Power Station.


	5. Chapter 5

Night had fallen over London. The van Mickey was in pulled up to an old derelict building, which looked as if it had once been a school or hospital.

"There's a light on! There's someone inside the base!" The man, who Mickey had heard the woman call Jake, said as they got out. "Mrs Moore! We've got visitors!" He added to the driver. They both quickly got their guns out and were sneaking through the building's corridors and towards the lit room as Mickey followed them.

"One two three go! Jake said as he rounded the lit doorway and into the room which looked like it was serving as a makeshift camp. The person inside was cooking over a stove.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked not sounding surprised as he looked up to see them. But Jake Mrs Moore and Mickey all looked equally shocked.  
"What are you doing there!?" Jake asked, sounding stunned.

"What, what am I doing there?" The man asked as he pointed at Mickey. The reason for the shock was that the man cooking over the stove and Mickey looked and sounded exactly the same. Jake and Mrs Moore quickly turned round and pointed their guns at Mickey who knew he'd been caught out.

The Doctor and Rose had reached Pete Tyler's house and were crouched on hillside just above the driveway where limos and fancy cars were driving past on their way to the house.  
"They've got visitors" The Doctor said taking notice of the vehicles.  
"February the first? Mums birthday! Even in a parallel universe she still loves a party" Rose told him.  
"Well given Pete Tyler's guest list I wouldn't mind a look and there is one guaranteed way of getting inside, who do you wanna be?" The Doctor asked as he pulled out his physic paper.

Inside the house the staff who were serving the drinks and snacks had just emerged from the kitchen all carrying trays. Among them and not looking too happy was Rose, now dressed in a maids uniform, and the Doctor who was walking behind her in a tuxedo.

"We could have been anyone!" She whispered to him in annoyance as they walked through the crowd serving the champagne and snacks.

"Got us in didn't it?" The Doctor whispered back.  
"Your in charge of the physic paper! We could have been guests celebrities, Sir Doctor Dame Rose, and we end up serving! Had enough of this back home" She whispered back as she and the Doctor faked smiles for the guests.

"I f you wanna know what's going on work in the kitchens" The Doctor told her as they stood in one of main rooms. "According to Lucy that man over there..." The Doctor began to say.  
"Who's Lucy?" Rose cut in.

"She's carrying the salad spring rolls" He told her as he pointed Lucy out and not seeing the problem.

"Oh? That's Lucy is it?" Rose asked almost sounding jealous.

"Yeah Lucy said, that is the president of Great Britain" The Doctor said after a brief pause, indicating the president.

"What? There's a president not a prime minister?" Rose asked him.  
"Seems so" He replied.

"Yeah well maybe Lucy's just a bit thick" Rose said a little cattily as she carried on serving.

"Excuse me! Could I have your attention please thank you" A very familiar voice to Rose sounded from just outside the room where the main staircase was. Entering the hall she and the Doctor saw Pete Tyler standing on the stairs addressing everyone."I'd like to thank you all for coming for this, er, this very special occasion, my wife's, thirty ninth" Peter said with a brief pause on the thirty ninth part which caused a slight laugh from the crowd. "So without further ado here she is! The birthday girl my lovely wife, Jackie Tyler!" Pete announced as a ripple of applause sounded as Jackie appeared at the top of the stairs and stared walking down them.

"Now I'm not giving a speech no work no politics that's not what my parties are about just a few mates and plenty of black market whiskey" She joked as she stood next to Pete as the crowd laughed again. After a few photos were taken the couple walked hand in hand down the rest of the stairs and started to mingle.

"You can't stay even if there was some way of telling them" The Doctor reminded Rose, who had been staring at them intensely.

"Course I can't still got mum at home my real mum couldn't just leave her just, they've got each other, mums got no one" She said quietly  
"She's got you those to haven't, all those different worlds not one of them gets it right" The Doctor reassured just as he and Rose suddenly heard Jackie calling out Rose's name. But she wasn't calling her, but rather her Yorkshire Terrier. The Doctor and Rose looked at each other for a moment with a mixture of surprise and perplexity on their faces, before the Doctor burst out into a quiet laugh. "Sorry" He apologised as he saw Rose's glare.

Across London, at Battersea Power Station Mr Crane was walking out into the loading area where lorries and cars were all being arranged. Among them, however, was something completely amazing and terrifying as the sound of metal boots marching on the concrete filled the air.

"Stop staring!" Mr Crane snapped at one of the workers, who'd stopped in his work to look.  
"But what are they sir?" He asked, sounding scared.

"I'm told their the future ain't technology wonderful go on, get in the cab start her up" He said as he too looked at the marching figures. Then he got a call via his earpieces.

"Mr Crane are we mobile?" Lumic's voice asked from the other end.

"Just about to hit the road sir and yourself?" Mr Crane asked.

"I'm arriving now prepare the factory, now send them forth old friend let the good work begin" Lumic replied as up above Mr Crane saw Lumic's zeppelin arrive.

In the abandoned building, Mickey now found himself tied to a chair and stripped down to his boxers as Jake scanned him whilst Mrs Moore looked over the data on her laptop.

"He's clean no bugs" Jake said to the other Mickey, who was presumably the Rickey that Mickey had been confused for.

"But this is off the scale! He's flesh and blood! How do this happen?" Ricky asked still sounding confused as he came over and stood next to Jake.  
"Well it could be that Cyber Industries have finally perfected the science of human cloning, or your father had a bike?" Mrs Moore replied. Rickey still looked angry as he began walking around Mickey.  
"So your name is Mickey? Not Rickey?" He asked him.  
"Mickey, dad was Jackson Smith, use to work at the key cutters on Clifton's parade, went to Spain and never came back" Mickey told him.

"But that's my dad so? We're brothers?" Rickey asked him as he bent over slightly so that they were level with each other.

"Be fair! What else could it be?" Jake asked.  
"I don't know but he doesn't just look like me he is exactly that same there's something else going on here Jake" Rickey replied.  
"So who are you lot?" Mickey asked as Rickey stood back up properly.  
"We! We are the preachers as in gospel truth you see? No ear pods while the rest of the world downloads from Cyber Industries we, have got freedom, your talking to London's most wanted! But target number one is Lumic and we are going to bring him down!" Rickey told him, now standing with his face right in Mickey's as he looked even angrier.  
"From you kitchen?" Mickey asked as he watched Rickey turn to Jake, who gave a small grin.

"Have you got a problem with that?" Rickey asked, turning back to Mickey, sounding more irritated.  
"No it's a good kitchen" Mickey replied, a little intimidated as Rickey stood back up.

"Another upload from Gemini," Mrs Moore said, looking at her laptop.

"Who's Gemini?" Mickey asked.

"The vans are back they're moving out of Battersea, looks like Gemini was right, Lumic's finally making a move" Mrs Moore told them, ignoring Mickey.

"And we're right behind them pack up, we're leaving" Rickey said.

As Lumic's lorries passed through London's streets, they passed right by the preachers van which was hidden in a alleyway before it started following them. Inside the van Rickey was driving whilst Jake, Mrs Moore and Mickey, who'd they'd reluctantly brought along, were sat in the back. Rather worryingly for Mickey Jake and Mrs Moore were busy preparing their rifles.

At the Tyler's house the Doctor had soon slipped away and found what must be Pete's private study where a computer was sitting on the desk. In the main crowd of the party Rose was still serving drinks but had become focused on Jackie who was talking and laughing with the president.

"I remember her twenty first pint of cider in the George" Pete suddenly said as he came over and stood next to her.

"Sorry? Champagne?" Rose asked determined to remain in character although secretly thrilled at the same time.

"Might as well I'm paying for it" Pete said with a smile as he took a glass.

"Big night for you?" Rose inquired with an equal smile.  
"For her, still she's happy" Pete replied.  
"She should be it's a great party" Rose told him.  
"Do you think?" Pete asked her.  
"You can trust me" Rose replied, giving a thumbs up in the same manner as Pete's advert.  
"Ah, you can trust me on this" He corrected her as they both smiled a chuckled again.

"So er, how long have you two been married?" Rose tentatively enquired.  
"Twenty years" Pete replied as he took a sip of champaign.

"No kids?" Rose asked again, knowing she was pushing it.  
"We kept putting it off she said she didn't wanna spoil her figure" Pete told her, with surprising openness.

"Well it's not to late, she's only forty" Rose said.

"Thirty nine" Pete corrected as they both smiled again. "Still too late I moved out this month but we're going to keep it quiet, you know it's bad for business" Pete told her quietly, before looking perplexed at something. "Why am I telling you all this? We haven't met before have we? I don't know you just seem sort of, right?" He said, sounding confused, before snapping out of he thoughts and rejoining the party.

Outside the house the preachers had followed the lorries until they'd stopped.

"I've identified the address it belongs to Pete Tyler the vitex millionaire, he's listed as one of Lumic's henchmen a traitor to the state" Mrs Moore said she and Mickey sat in the van whilst Rickey and Jake were hid in the bushes near the lorries. The ramps of the lorries were then lowered.

"What the hell are they?" Rickey said over the radio as he and Jake watched in shock as they saw the contents of the lorry march out.


	6. Chapter 6

Inside the house, unaware of the impending danger, the Doctor was now watching Lumic's presentation that had been shown to Pete and the president on Pete's computer. In the party Rose had noticed that Jackie was sat on her own out on the patio. Walking out and over to her she cleared her throat.

"Mrs Tyler? Is there anything I can get you?" She asked as she looked at Jackie, who was sat on a bench, gazing out at the dark grounds.

"The last twenty years back" Jackie replied as she took notice of her before giving a small smile.

"I could manage a glass of champagne, or a nice cup of tea?" Rose guessed.

"Oh, that would do me" Jackie replied as they both smiled.

"My mum loves that, end of a long night she doesn't go to bed she just stays up to have one last cup" Rose said as she cautiously sat down next to Jackie.

"I'm the same" Jackie replied with a smile.

"Two sugars" Rose added.  
"And me Pete always says you know..." Jackie trailed off. "...ah, never mind him" She finished.  
"I was talking to him earlier he's a nice man, you know bit of a jack the lad a suppose even if he has got money but he's a good bloke better than most, he's worth a second chance" Rose told Jackie before she could stop herself.  
"Are you commenting on my marriage? Who the hell do you think you are?" Jackie asked, suddenly sounding angry and discussed. "Your staff! Your nothing but staff! Your just a servant girl for god's sake! And you are certainly not getting paid! Don't you dare talk to me!" She snarled as she stood up and stormed back into the party leaving Rose on the bench. For a few moments Rose could only sit there and try to remind herself that it hadn't been her mother. Suddenly a movement in the darkness caught her eye. Standing up she could of sworn she could see someone running up to the house.

"Who's there?" She called out, wondering if she'd actually seen something and wasn't just her mind playing tricks as she'd not actually heard anything.

"Rose?" A voice responded.

"Peter?" Rose called back as she saw Peter, which explained the lack of noise, emerge from the dark grounds. "What are you doing here? And where's Mickey!?" She asked, sounding a little more irritated than normal, owing to Jackie's outburst.

"I, er, sort of, lost him" Peter said hesitantly.

"Oh great! What did you do? Have another argument!? I can't leave you two alone for five minutes!" Rose snapped.  
"Hey it's not my fault! These people in a van grabbed him! I gave chase but they gassed me" Peter defended himself. "I then ran across half of London and scaled over a very sharp fence to get in here! Look!" He retaliated as he showed Rose his bruised hands.

"Yeah well you didn't have you parents think you worthless and ignore you!" Rose snapped back.  
"Rose they're not your parents! And why are you serving drinks anyway?" Peter asked, noticing her uniform.  
"Oh the Doctor and his physic paper, how did you know where we were anyway?" She asked.

"I figured you'd come here eventually" Peter replied.

"You could have called me and told us? Where's your mobile?" Rose suggested.

"In the Tardis" Peter replied sheepishly.

"Why?" Rose asked, sounding irritated again.  
"Because I didn't think I needed it!" He retaliated.

"Fat lot a good that is! Rose snapped. Suddenly the grounds were illuminated in a dazzle of bright white light, nearly blinding them.  
"Were you followed?" Rose asked quietly.

"No I would have picked up on it otherwise" Peter replied but looked surprised as he and Rose saw silhouettes appear in the light as the sound of marching filled the air. As the figures got closer Peter and Rose realised how and why Peter had not noticed them and had run straight past.

The Doctor was still watching the presentation and was soon realising it's significance.  
"Cyber!" He said in horror as he realised it's meaning as he rushed out of the room. Rose and Peter were also frozen in shock as they stared at the approaching figures before they too rushed back inside. All three of them soon found each other in the main party room.

"Where's Mickey?" The Doctor asked, looking more worried than surprised at Peter's arrival.  
"I lost him, some people in a van took him" Peter explained as best he could.  
"So he's not here then? Good he's safer that way" The Doctor replied as he rushed to one of the windows.  
"What do you mean? What are they? Doctor! I ran straight past them without noticing they were there, that's not normal" Peter said worriedly and he and Rose also looked out of the window where they could see the figures approaching.

"It's happening again" The Doctor said quietly.  
"What do you mean?" Rose asked.  
"I've seen them before, Cybermen!" He replied as the dreaded robot men came into full view.

The party atmosphere was shattered as two of the Cybermen smashed through the windows as more arrived from the other doors of the room, completely surrounding the screaming and terrified guests. As the Cybermen came to a halt the president revived a call via his earpieces.

"Mr Lumic" He answered, already knowing who was behind this.

"Mr president, I suppose a remark about crashing the party would be appropriate at this point?" Lumic enquired, now in his office in Battersea, his voice on loud speaker so that all at the party could hear him.

"I forbade this" The president told him.

"These are my children sir would you deny my family?" Lumic asked.

"What are these things? Robots?" Rose whispered from where she, the Doctor and Peter were stood in the middle of the crowd.  
"Worst than that" The Doctor replied.

"Who were these people?" The president asked, knowing what the robots were because of the presentation he'd seen earlier that day.

"It does not matter" Lumic replied.

"They're people?" Peter asked, sounding discussed and angry.

"They were until they had all their humanity taken away, it's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body with a heart of steel all emotions removed" The Doctor replied grimly as he looked at the Cybermen.  
"Why no emotions?" Rose asked.

"Because it hurts" The Doctor replied, turning to face them.

"I demand to know Lumic! These people who were they?" The president ordered, now sounding angry.  
"The homeless the wretched and useless until I saved them and elevated them and gave them life eternal and now I leave you in their capable hands goodnight sir, goodnight Mr president" Lumic said as he ended the call as a Cyberman stepped in front of the president.

"We have been upgrade" It said in a male robotic voice.

"Into what?" The Doctor asked, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"The next level of mankind we are human point two every citizen will receive a free upgrade you will become like us" The Cyberman explained.

"I'm sorry I'm so sorry for what's been done to you but listen to me this experiment ends tonight" The president told it.

"The upgrade is compulsory" It replied.  
"And what if I refuse?" The president challenged.  
"Don't" The Doctor warned.

"What if I refuse?" The president challenged again, ignoring the Doctor.

"I'm telling you don't!" The Doctor tried to warn.

"What happens if I refuse?" The president challenged once more.

"Then you are not compatible" The Cyberman told him.  
"What happens then?" The president asked.  
"You will be deleted" The Cyberman replied before grabbing hold of the president's shoulder and sent a bright blue fatal electric pulse through him. Then people started screaming and running and the Cybermen all started deleting everyone in the room. The Doctor, Rose and Peter had managed to dodge them as they headed for one of the smashed windows.

"There's nothing we can do!" The Doctor shouted above the noise. Then, just as they were approaching the window, one of the Cybermen managed to block their way.

"Delete" It said with it's arm stretched out. But that was as far as it got as a second later there was a bright flash as a single bolt cut straight through the Cyberman's chest as a hole appeared in it. Turning the Doctor and Rose saw Peter with his gun out and aimed.

"Move!" He told them reminding them all of the situation as they went through the window frame and out onto the gardens. But just up ahead they were met by a line of Cybermen, blocking their way out. Changing direction and making a run for the other side of the house they reached the corner just as Pete Tyler left through the window too who followed them as Rose spotted him and called.

Inside the house, people were still being killed by the Cybermen. Jackie herself was being chased by them too as she took refuge in the cellar.

Rounding the corner of the house the Doctor, Rose, Peter and Pete came to a halt as they looked for an exit.  
"Pete is there a way out?" The Doctor asked.

"The side gates! Who are you? How do know so much?" Pete asked as they started running again.

"You won't believe it in a million years!" The Doctor replied as they were forced to skid to a halt on the gravel and turn on their heel as more Cybermen appeared in front of them. As they reached the gardens again they could see lights in the distance, and two human silhouettes running towards them.  
"Who's that?" Rose asked as she spotted them.

"Get behind me!" A voice shouted as Rickey and Jack appeared, both carrying rifles which they began firing as soon as everyone was behind them. But the bullets simply bounced off the metal bodies, thought thankfully the Cybermen halted for a moment.

"Mickey what the hell!? Where'd you come from?" Peter asked Rickey, sounding shocked and surprised.

"Oh, Mickey I thought I'd never see you again!" Rose said as she pulled Rickey into a hug.

"Yeah no offence sweetheart but who the hell are you?" He asked, pulling away from her.  
"Rose!" A familiar voice called out as they all saw the real Mickey running up to them. "That's not me that's like, the other one" He said as he reached them.  
"Oh if this world ain't bad enough there's two Mickeys!" Peter said with a groan.  
"It's Rickey" Rickey told him with a glare.

"There's more of them" Mickey said as everyone heard the marching of the Cybermen coming up behind them.

"We're surrounded" Rose said as the Cybermen formed a circle around them.

"Put the guns down bullets won't stop them, Peter don't shoot even if it works there's too many" The Doctor ordered. But Jake fired another round, with the same result. "I said stop it now!" The Doctor shouted as he pushed the gun away, stopping Jake from firing. "We surrender!" The Doctor then shouted to the Cybermen. "Hands up" He ordered the others, who followed his ask. "There's no need to damage us we're good stock we volunteer for the upgrade program take us to be processed" He them told the Cybermen.

"You are rouge elements" One of the Cybermen said.  
"But we surrender!" The Doctor told it.

"You are incompatible" It replied.

"But this is a surrender!" The Doctor told it again.

"You will be deleted" It replied.

"But were surrendering! This is a surrender! Listen to me this is a surrender!" The Doctor shouted in the hope of getting through.

"You are inferior man will be reborn as Cybermen but you will perish with maximum deletion" It said as all the surrounding Cybermen held their arms out ready.  
"Delete, delete, delete, delete" It said.


End file.
